In life and in business, change is a constant. Some changes happen unexpectedly, others we can anticipate, and still others we enact ourselves. No matter what kind of change you’re facing, if you have the right mindset, I believe you can leverage change to innovate and grow. Here are some thoughts I have on how to not only embrace change, but to use it to propel your team and your company forward:

Let Go of Expectations: The writer William Faulkner once said about the writing process, “You have to learn to kill your darlings”. Meaning: sometimes you have to completely reinvent or abandon an idea or way of doing things that you are strongly attached to. It’s easy to become personally invested in an idea. You may even feel like in that idea, there’s a piece of yourself on the line. In letting go of our “darlings”, we let go of that attachment, and in doing so, open ourselves up to a wealth of possibilities. More importantly, we don’t hinge our success on one concept or assumption. By letting go of old ideas and expectations, you discover that each new idea presents a new opportunity to achieve your ultimate goals.

Double Down: If something isn’t working, it means one of two things… you need to eliminate it completely, or double down. Sometimes you need to just go further with something. As Sheryl Sandberg said, instead of leaving the table, lean in. An example of this is Microsoft. Microsoft wasn’t focusing enough on new technology and innovation, so they doubled down. What emerged was the Hololens, which has created a new paradigm for virtual reality and information. If you’re not seeing results, it’s because your model is either flawed, or you’re not putting enough energy into it. Either way, when you double down on it, you’ll get clarity.

Invest in an Adaptable Team: A key to leveraging change to your advantage is surrounding yourself with people who are not only adaptable to change, but thirsty for it. Some people associate change with loss, and will try to resist or even block change in your company. But the best people thrive in the midst of change. The famous psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth found in research on success that the greatest determining factor of success is “grit”: or the ability to pick oneself up after a fall and be resilient. If you invest in people who are resilient, adaptable, and have grit, you will be equipped with a team that can thrive in times of uncertainty and change. After all, when nothing is certain, anything is possible.

Keep Moving: Change creates movement. And movement can lead to new ideas, discoveries and opportunities. Newton’s first law informs us that a moving object is likely to keep moving; an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon. So, if you want to make things happen and truly innovate….keep moving. When companies stop progressing, they become irrelevant and worse, extinct. If you keep moving towards your end goal, new solutions and opportunities will present themselves.

Flow, Don’t Harden: When change is happening, you might feel the natural instinct to tighten up, harden, and put up your guard. But change is best navigated with a more fluid approach. We see this in nature. If you are rafting down a river, it’s easier to navigate a turbulent current when you’re moving with it, not against it. Flow has a stealthy kind of power: it gives you strength through momentum, and will always outpower brute force. That’s why the momentum and fluidity of water will always erode rock. And for good reason… agility has it’s rewards. We saw this in the tech industry with mobile: the companies that were able to flow with the rise of mobile reaped the benefits of a mobile-first market. Those who resisted, were ultimately eroded by it. Be like water, not like rock. Flow, don’t harden.

Keep Your End Goal in Mind: When you have a positive goal, it’s like finding your
North Star. It will direct you to the right path or course of action no matter what the present circumstance is. That’s why it’s important to keep your eye on your star. In transitional periods, it will feel more comfortable to retract back to old habits and strategies you’ve always relied on. But instead of grasping onto old ways of thinking, hold true to your vision.

That’s why I always make a habit of writing my strategic goals for our company on a piece of paper, and keeping that in my pocket. Carrying that paper with me day after day has deteriorated it and worn it down to practical shreds, but what it symbolizes stays in tact: the end goal. Even through periods of turbulence, the principles and goals written on it guide me like a North Star.

As business leaders, we embrace risk every day, so change is our prerogative. Risk means change and lots of it. But whether you’re a startup or a business magnate, change presents a unique opportunity. Ultimately, change gives us all the chance to lead. And if we allow ourselves to embrace change, we can become agents of change ourselves. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I can’t think of a better North Star.

]]>http://www.founderblog.com/2016/07/26/keep-calm-and-change-often/feed/0Great Companies Tell Great Storieshttp://www.founderblog.com/2016/05/18/great-companies-tell-great-stories/
http://www.founderblog.com/2016/05/18/great-companies-tell-great-stories/#respondWed, 18 May 2016 15:59:30 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=720Since neanderthals created cave paintings, human beings have told stories. While storytelling may have been formerly relegated to the entertainment industry, it’s gained a special significance in the tech world. The launch of technologies like Facebook’s Oculus Rift, and Microsoft’s Hololens have provided startlingly realistic immersive experiences that are just the tip of the iceberg. With the platforms for storytelling rapidly increasing in VR, AR, and more apps and social media tools at our disposal, technology is now taking a front seat. But how do we embrace and adapt to these platforms effectively, without losing the meaning and heart behind the stories we tell?

Here are some elements of storytelling that are useful for anyone, whether you are a Sundance filmmaker or pitching your startup. At Rubicon Project, I’ve found these tools to be vital in helping me convey the story of our company.

1. Have a Hero: Heroes have purpose and overcome obstacles. They have lofty goals, and take risks. When you’re telling your story, include a hero: someone who is a champion of your company’s purpose. This could be exemplified in a teammate who exhibits your company’s values or a personal hero that inspires you. Encourage your team to find heroes in each other.

2. Details Matter: Research shows that generalizations are more forgettable than specifics…in storytelling, details matter. Details can come in the form of concrete deliverables, metrics, and results. But specifics can also include twists and turns, discoveries, red herrings, unforeseen obstacles and the catalyst for your endeavor in the first place. In storytelling, the details are the vehicle for the larger message.

3. Engage your Audience: If you are a leader, the best way to share your way of thinking is to engage your audience. One way to do that is to appeal to your audience’s emotional intelligence. A Stanford research study showed that statistics alone have a retention rate of 5-10%, but when coupled with anecdotes, the retention rate rises to 65-70%. As master storyteller Maya Angelou famously put it, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.

4. Start at the End and Work Back to the Beginning: If you have a key point you’re getting to, build to it backwards. Great storytellers set up an expectation, and then deliver on that expectation in an unexpected way. When I founded Rubicon Project, I had a clear vision in mind: I wanted to create a company that changed advertising for the better. I knew the ends, but discovered the means along the way.

5. Avoid Jargon: In the advertising industry, for example, jargon is pervasive. Every company in this space is “an innovative and cutting edge leader fusing the art and science of advertising for a global roster of premium customers creating real ROI.” What does that even mean? Instead of relying on jargon, be original with your language. Let the way you convey an idea be new, and in your own words. Just say what it is. I’ve found that being sincere, and honest in your ideas, ensures effective communication.

By remaining true to your authentic voice, you build trust with your audience… and people can sense when a leader is being inauthentic. Instead of feeling the need to couch your ideas with a quippy, trite phrase, just share your honest point of view.

I’ve told the story of our company many times, and the narrative is constantly evolving. The key to profound storytelling lies in having a hero, including key details, engaging your audience, starting with the end in mind, and in authenticity.

By learning to tell great stories, you can inspire your team and transform your company for the better.

Great companies tell great stories, and great stories can change the world.

]]>http://www.founderblog.com/2016/05/18/great-companies-tell-great-stories/feed/03 Ways to Create a High Performance Company Culturehttp://www.founderblog.com/2016/04/07/3-ways-to-create-a-high-performance-company-culture/
Thu, 07 Apr 2016 15:51:19 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=709Great company culture isn’t just about ping pong tables, free lunches, bouncy ball chairs and free gummy bears. In fact, it’s not about that at all. It’s about creating an environment that facilitates and fosters a high performance culture of winning.

As CEO of Rubicon Project, a lot of people ask me what defines the culture of our company. It’s not a simple question to answer. Here’s my take on a few things effective company culture is about…and a few things it’s not about:

1. COMMUNICATE “THE CAUSE”:

From sitting on the Board of CASA, a non-profit that serves neglected and abused foster children, one of the business lessons I have learned is that people are inspired by a cause, not a company’s profit margin. Working for a great cause or “the why” inspires passion, and as research has repeatedly shown, passion drives higher performance.

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, he points out that only 13% of employees worldwide are engaged at work, meaning only about one in eight workers feel that they are making a positive contribution through their work. As business leaders, we have the ability and responsibility to change that. Meaningful work that is tied to a greater cause, to a “story”, is one of the most important things we can impart on our team.

Understanding the cause is a key element of great storytelling. As a new father, my mind goes to great children’s stories. In every famous children’s story, there’s always a memorable lesson learned, a purpose, a take-away. We often remember children’s stories years later. This is tremendously helpful when communicating the story of your company … starting with the “why” will inspire the highest performance from your team.

2. WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS DONE:

By measuring performance, you actually inspire it. It’s human nature to want to do better than your last best. If you set high performance standards, and measure them, it gives your team a high bar to reach for. And nothing beats the feeling of realizing you’re capable of reaching higher than you ever thought possible.

A big challenge in measuring performance is deciding what areas to measure. It isn’t as simple as just tracking revenue growth; it’s about recognizing and measuring the key drivers of your company’s value.

A great example of this is in Michael Lewis’ bestseller that was adapted to film: Moneyball. Moneyball recounts the true story of how the Oakland Athletics discovered the right statistics to build a winning baseball team without breaking the bank. They realized the baseball recruiting business was rigged to value batting average as opposed to a player’s ability to get on base… the latter of which was actually a much better predictor of the team’s overall likelihood to win. After taking Lewis’ advice, and changing what they measured, the A’s filled their team with players who could get on base… and became a winning team.

Moneyball points to a greater point: as a leader, it’s not just about measuring standard, vanilla metrics and goals, it’s about determining and measuring the right metrics and goals.

3. BUILD A WORLD-CLASS STADIUM:

Olympians prepare in world class gyms, and perform on groomed playing fields. Nobel Prize winners have access to renowned libraries and laboratories. Writers have beautiful studies, and spaces for solitude. Even Superman had a “Fortress of Solitude”. As entrepreneurs, it’s important we give our team the tools and environment they need to be elite performers. That means curating a space that’s designed to facilitate work, innovation and collaboration.

At Rubicon Project, we provide our team with all kinds of amenities that could be written off as “office perks”. In reality, what we’re doing is giving our team the time and space they need to work at their highest level. This carries over to work schedule as well. If output is improved when an engineer works from home, or a business analyst takes the day to work in the “Garage”, a lab created for disruptive innovation, we allow for that. Great things don’t take place in a vacuum, but in a place with the resources necessary to facilitate world class work.

Culture is a critical part of the success of any company. By fostering an environment that rewards leaders, appeals to a higher sense of purpose, measures the right outcomes and fosters world class work, you can create a wellspring of innovation and a natural order that’s competitive.

Companies are powered by people, and people are empowered by company culture.

]]>The 5 Best Habits to Bolster Creativity and Focushttp://www.founderblog.com/2016/03/01/the-5-best-habits-to-bolster-creativity-and-focus/
Tue, 01 Mar 2016 17:00:04 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=702 As a serial entrepreneur and founder of 6 companies, I’ve found one of the most important ingredients for innovation to be something I call “whitespace”. Whitespace is time you set aside to refresh your thinking, strategize, reflect on your primary goals and gain perspective.

To me, whitespace is the lifeblood of the innovator, and an absolute must for any creative person. It’s also critical for anyone in a leadership role – we as leaders need the time and space to digest information, analyze, and strategize the steps we need to take to reach our goals.

As a business leader, I’m constantly reading, forecasting trends, and responding to new data. It’s easy to hit a saturation point and reach information overload – in today’s marketplace, we’re continually bombarded with an endless influx of information.

Tapping into your whitespace can help maintain a proactive as opposed to reactive mindset. It brings the essentials into focus, it’s like wearing a new pair of glasses. Here are 5 ways I tap into my “whitespace”:

1. Turn on “Airplane Mode”

I get some of my best work done on an airplane. There’s a set travel time and no interruptions. I can leave any knee-jerk impulses on the ground, and tap into a focused headspace.

When I need to reflect on a strategic move, or assess company goals, I allot time to turn on “airplane mode” and recreate a disturbance-free environment. When working on an important project, I encourage leaders to turn on their metaphorical airplane mode, and barrier off time and space to reflect.

2. Meditate

The best alternative to recreating “airplane mode” is meditation. Having a key breakthrough can be like capturing lightning in a bottle. Great ideas come sporadically, often when our minds are relaxed. With a clear mind, vital paradigm shifts can occur.

Albert Einstein once famously said, “Problems cannot be solved with the same mindset that created them.” Taking 5-10 minutes a day to still the mind can pull you out of unproductive thought patterns and allow you to think in new ways. Meditation can improve your mental outlook and be a powerful problem-solving tool.

3. Find your White Wall

Whitespace is often used as an ubiquitous business trope, but put simply, it means “the empty space on the page”. In layman’s terms, it’s what’s left blank: to engage with the whitespace means to engage with the unwritten.

Picasso would famously stare at a white wall to get inspiration for his paintings. When asked what he was doing, he’d reply “I’m painting”. Great innovators have a knack for recognizing relationships, making associations, and seeing connections that others cannot see. What Picasso understood is that using a “white wall” can be key in practicing this kind of innovative thinking.

For business leaders, whitespace is crucial to distinguishing strategic moves and reflecting on priorities. For some, it’s a white wall, for others it’s a park, for me, it’s the ocean. Every week, I spend time on the ocean; that’s when I am best able to engage with my own personal “white wall”, and strategically plan for the future.

4. Schedule Whitespace

Whitespace can feel like something you can make time for whenever, so we put it off. We see leisure time as whitespace. Anytime we’re not working becomes whitespace.

The problem with that mentality, is that whitespace is a key part of work, and should be given the same weight. During the week, I’m in a constant string of meetings; my time is extremely structured.

That’s why I structure whitespace into my schedule, just as I would any other meeting. By programming in this time, I allow myself to come to it with an active brain and an open mind. I show up differently.

5. Get Active

Most of my best thinking happens in the morning, on my morning run. Exercise, movement, and activity are proven to expand creative thinking, brain processing, and memory. For some people this means yoga, a run, a basketball game.

Sometimes, to solve a problem, you have to take a step back from the problem and activate another drive and focus. Get out. Breathe fresh air. Engage another muscle.

And if you don’t run, walk. I make a habit of taking walking meetings. A 20-minute stroll increases blood flow to the brain, which boosts creative thought and brain function. Get the blood pumping, and the creative flow will follow.

Sometimes, you have to tune out to dial in. Take time to sharpen the saw instead of tirelessly whittling. We all achieve this mindset in different ways. Personally, I allot time for whitespace. For me, that means turning on “Airplane Mode”, meditating, finding my “white wall”, scheduling it in my calendar, and getting the blood pumping.

Inspiration and strategic thinking can’t be forced. By making time for whitespace, you will have the clarity to effectively prioritize, execute, and lead – not just a team – but a winning team.

]]>5 Great Ways to Completely Reinvent Your Companyhttp://www.founderblog.com/2016/02/01/5-great-ways-to-completely-reinvent-your-company/
Mon, 01 Feb 2016 17:00:51 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=695In my more than 20 years serving as a CEO and/or Founder, one thing I have learned is that change is the only constant.

But then why is it so difficult to bring about, even in the most forward-thinking organizations? The simple truth is that it’s human nature to resist change.

Change is threatening because it’s associated with uncertainty, self-examination, and a loss of control. But it can also mean possibility, progress, and improvement. In shifting our perceptions of change, we can better use it to our advantage.

Here are some practical strategies that have helped my team embrace change, and become stronger as a result:

1. Start with “The Why”

Positive change requires vision. If you share a new vision, or include your team in a new story, change will follow.

Great stories begin with the cause or, as Simon Sinek points out in his TED talk about the Golden Circle, the “why”. As Sinek explains, all of our greatest leaders and innovators – from Martin Luther King Jr, to Apple, to the Wright Brothers – had one thing in common…they started with the why.

One of the reasons Martin Luther King Jr. was such an effective orator was that his speeches always started with the “why”, i.e., “I have a dream….”. Steve Jobs didn’t choose “we build the best devices” as a slogan for Apple; he chose “think different”.There were other teams that were better qualified and funded in the world of aviation, but it was The Wright Brothers who created the first flying machine. Why? They wanted to reinvent human travel.

The why – not the what – has the ability to change the course of human history. Ultimately, people will not be motivated by what you want to change, but they will be motivated by why you want to make a change.Your company will be inspired by a cause and a great story. They are hungry for a company mission, not a company manual.

2. Put Vinegar in the Kool-Aid

It’s easy to get carried away with everything that is going well. Often times, organizations are too focused on drinking the Kool-Aid – it’s natural, you need to be when building, selling, and recruiting for something that no one has ever done before.

Every once and awhile, put some vinegar in that Kool-Aid and take a hard look at your organization from the outside, focus on what could go wrong. Think about what you really could be doing better.Play devil’s advocate with your own winning assumptions and mentalities. From that, you will also learn about your strengths and opportunities.

3. Where Is the World Going?

Successful change doesn’t just stem from self-awareness, it also comes from an awareness of others around you and of the wider world. Before instigating change, it’s very important to do the research and make sure those changes reflect where the market and the wider world are headed.

In the past couple years, Rubicon Project saw that mobile was growing more than any other market, so we made a strategic mindset push in this area, and the results went well beyond our expectations. Today, Rubicon Project is the third largest mobile exchange in the world.

And if you are unsure where the world is going – always follow the consumer.

4. Empower Influencers

If you truly want to move the needle, you’re not going to be able to do it alone. The best way to execute changes is to identify your intellectual capital.

In other words – who are your leaders? Who will people follow? These aren’t always your executives or senior team, but they are the team members that people listen to, that have influence.

Quickly figure out who these catalysts are, and empower them to lead. When you assemble your team of influencers, make each responsible for a specific facet of the company’s reinvention.

Creating change is about shifting a collective mindset, and you will need to appoint influencers to change individual and team mindsets.

5. Embrace (and Replace) the Fear

Ultimately, what’s behind people’s discomfort with change is fear of the unknown; a fear that will no doubt run through you and your entire team. But the magic comes when you face that fear, rather than run from it.

One of the greatest changemakers of the past century, Nelson Mandela, said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the judgement that something else is more important than fear.” That “something else” is the WHY we talked about above.

I encourage you all to choose the WHY, over fear. After all, fear, like happiness, is a choice we make every day.

Most organizations merely cope with change. The most successful organizations make change their mindset.

To create that mindset shift, start with the why. Figure out where the world is going, take a hard look at your company, and see if you have what you need to get there before the world does.

Last but not least, identify the right influencers to make that change… and empower them to embrace, then replace, fear.

]]>10 Rules for Winning the Time Management Gamehttp://www.founderblog.com/2015/11/23/10-rules-for-winning-the-time-management-game/
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 15:00:37 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=686Part of being CEO and Founder of a company is learning to navigate the different tasks, people and opportunities that are constantly competing for your time. That’s the nature of the beast. The discipline lies in being strategic about your schedule to maximize your time and productivity.

Below are 10 strategies that have helped me become more productive:

1. Put everything (and I mean everything) on your calendar

When to wake up in the morning, when to eat, when you’re in the car driving, and so on. Doing this will help you overcome the planning fallacy – the cognitive bias that causes us to underestimate how long it will take to complete a task. The planning fallacy is the perpetrator behind the feeling that you have too much to do and things are spinning out of control…probably because you didn’t put everything on your calendar.

2. Use your calendar to build good habits

Routine is everything. If you want to introduce new habits and changes in your life, the first step is to make sure they are on your calendar, then you have a fighting chance. For example, if you’re having trouble sticking with an exercise routine, put it on your calendar at the same time every day. Then treat it like a mandate and action will become habit.

3. Book meetings in increments that are not standard

Instead of setting up a meeting from 1:30-2:00 pm, I’ll schedule it from 1:30-1:50. This gives me 10 minutes to prepare, and mentally switch gears to the next topic at hand, or even to simply walk down the hall to the meeting or dial the next call. In a study about “switching costs”, researchers found that the cost for suddenly switching from one activity to another, without giving the brain time to transition, can cost as much as 40% of someone’s productive time.

4. Bundle similar meetings together

Another way to lessen “switching costs” is to bundle similar meetings together. For example, try not to schedule a meeting about financial planning before you do an interview with the press about innovation or some other divergent topic. If you know you are doing a financial forecasting meeting, move your regular one-on-one with your CFO to around the same time. Don’t force your brain to do jump through hula-hoops it doesn’t need to.

5. Be on time and end on time

Booking meetings in increments that are not non-standard gives me buffer time, so that I can achieve another major goal with my schedule: punctuality. When you are late it is not just an interruption of other people’s time, but it is an interruption of your own time, thinking processes, and overall productivity.And remember, if you don’t end on time, you likely won’t be able to be on time for the next meeting…

6. Walk and talk

I like to take walking meetings for a few reasons. First, people do not rely on their typical crutches, and it forces my team to bring up what is most top-of-mind and important. Second, changing up the environment brings up new ideas and inspires innovative thinking. Lastly, regular walking meetings can extend your lifespan, do you really need a better reason?

7. Schedule your most important and challenging tasks in the morning

My team recently read the book Willpower by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney, which discusses how willpower is best understood as a muscle. Over the course of the day, as you make decisions, stand in line, battle traffic…it gets worn down. Because willpower is at its highest in the morning, it’s important to engineer your schedule so that you are tackling the most important tasks at the beginning of your day.

8. Establish clear meeting objectives

Before I accept a meeting request, I ask my team to have the purpose and objectives all mapped out and distributed to participants. This helps avoid something we all dread–the useless meeting. I also ask that the materials for the meeting be sent out at least 24 hours in advance, so that the meeting focuses on meeting the objective–not reviewing the materials.

9. Color code items on your calendar in accordance with urgency

Everything on my calendar is color coded. Orange is urgent, meaning I do not move it. Blue means important, but if we push it one day, the world will not come to an end. Gray means it needs to get done, but it’s not time-sensitive. This method really works because, when I look at my calendar, I can see and track my priorities.

10. Make Time for “Whitespace”

Taking time to be alone and for what I call “whitespace” is the lifeblood of the innovator. It is also vital to any leader and entrepreneur, because it enables you to be more focused and clear about your goals, and what specifically brings you closest to them. Alone time boosts what scientists call your “meta-cognition”, one of the most powerful abilities the human brain has. Geniuses and visionaries have strong meta-cognition.

I hope these simple rules for time management help you as much as they’ve helped me. The key takeaway is: make your schedule a reflection of your primary goals. Then minute by minute, hour by hour, meeting by meeting, you will gradually achieve your greatest goals and dreams.

]]>Activity ≠ Resultshttp://www.founderblog.com/2015/10/26/activity-%e2%89%a0-results/
Mon, 26 Oct 2015 13:30:59 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=679Does an activity (be it a meeting, project, or decision…) bring you closer to achieving your goals or farther away? Asking this simple question before beginning a task has not only made me more productive, but it has helped me more effectively lead. I refer to this results-oriented approach with my team as: activity ≠ results. When you look at the most successful companies and thriving work cultures, there’s a common theme: they focus on output and results, as opposed to activity. It’s less about how it gets done – and “processes for process sake” – but more about getting the job done. As the saying goes, “results speak for themselves”. I have found that some of the greatest successes have not stemmed from Herculean efforts nor from a “paint by numbers” mindset reminiscent of Office Space. Instead, success often comes when teams are thoughtful and strategic about executing a project efficiently – working smarter, not harder.

Some of the best people and team members I’ve worked with are not just those who have produced phenomenal results, but those who also operate with a results-oriented mindset (and the two almost always go together). In Stephen Covey’s’ bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People he emphasizes how successful people make a habit of “beginning with the end in mind”. Start with a clear understanding of your destination, and then determine the next two actionable steps to get you there. The same principle can be applied to business. If you don’t make a conscious effort to visualize and clearly define the results you want to achieve and the end goal, then you empower other people, circumstances, interests etc. to direct your life and decision-making.

I also use “results-oriented” thinking to help guide my schedule and time-management. As a CEO and Chairman for a rapidly growing company, the game moves much faster, the responsibilities increase, the number of decisions that need to be made are exponential, and you are constantly tugged in a million different directions. Here is the advice that has helped me stay focused and not get redirected by other agendas: every morning, I review my three goals and the company’s three major goals. I use these as a filter for my schedule. Given my engineering tendencies, I take a binary approach to scheduling meetings: does a meeting get me closer to achieving those main goals or not? If the answer is no, I do not proceed with a meeting or task. A neutral response to that question is the same as taking me further from the goal because it costs time, and time is a precious, non-replenishable resource. You can always hire more people, make more money, launch more products, but the one thing you cannot create is more time…

So, the next time you are presented with a meeting request or a new project, just ask: does this bring me closer or farther away from the goal ? It’s a simple method, but it will save you and your company a tremendous amount of time and effort, and make you far more productive. Keep your focus on the results and don’t get lost in the activity.

]]>Wearing Multiple Hats: What Would Darwin Do?http://www.founderblog.com/2015/10/05/wearing-multiple-hats-what-would-darwin-do/
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 14:36:56 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=672People often ask me to define my management style. It’s interesting because I would say I wear many hats, but the word that comes to mind is “adaptive.” Whether you are a Founder, CEO, Chairman, or senior executive… you not only have to wear a number of different hats, but you have to become adaptable about constantly changing from one role to the other. As Founder, I’m the chief evangelist – I started the company and I own that vision. As a CEO, I’m responsible for the management and operations of the business. As Chairman of the Board, I’m responsible for the governing body of the company and act as a liaison between the board and senior management.

Navigating these three roles has been an adaptive process. In the very beginning, it was a lot easier to inhabit the Founder and CEO roles at the same time. Later, when I become focused on scaling the company, I had to put on the CEO/operator hat more frequently. When the company grew and honed in on innovation and reinvention, I had to simultaneously be the Founder with the vision, while still embodying the role of the CEO focused on scaling the vision. Eighteen months ago my role changed again when I went from running a private company to a public company. Then the Chairman role also became a very, very important and critical function.

In the early days of Rubicon Project, I recall sitting around a desk with everyone in the company. I’d be writing code, we’d be spec’ing ideas out on napkins, and I personally would sign all the checks in the company. As Rubicon Project grew, that became more difficult, so I hired team members to do what I used to do myself. But I’m mindful to this day to not take that too far. It’s easy for any institution to slip into an ivory tower system of managing, which is why I still make a point of spending hours sitting around a table with my team, brainstorming and sketching out ideas on napkins and whiteboards. This helps me remain adaptable… I feel that the best CEOs are constantly learning and getting better as their teams concurrently learn and improve.

Ups and downs are a business’ version of having a pulse – if they don’t happen, then you’re not a viable company and you’re definitely not innovating. There have been cycles where we have grown really fast and cycles where we have had to hunker down and get efficient again. A team member of mine often makes a comparison between adaptability in business and the “science” of surfing. Position is everything in the ocean, but if the waves change or the weather changes, you must too change and adjust your position. Similarly, I’m from Chicago, and we have a saying, “If you don’t like the weather in Chicago, just wait 15 minutes.” The same is true for running a company. If I were to give one piece of advice to other CEOs and Founders, it would be: Don’t get too comfortable doing what you’re doing now. The only constant in life is change, and the same is true of business. You must adapt.

Part of the challenge is not just wearing different hats, but accounting for the switch that occurs when you are changing hats…a phenomenon that I refer to as “switching costs”. In the span of a couple of hours as a CEO I may have to quickly move from a small, detail-oriented meeting about financial forecasting, to a high-level, strategic meeting about the future of the company, then to a public appearance presenting to potential investors and influencers. I call the process of shifting gears and adapting “switching costs” because there’s a cost to switching gears constantly. CEOs and leaders must learn to conserve energy as well as train their minds to pivot methodically and readjust.

When speaking about the evolution of species, Charles Darwin said “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” This is not just relevant to the evolution of a species, it’s relevant to the evolution of a company. Darwin had it right, and survival of the fittest in the age of automation is not necessarily about who is the biggest or has the most resources. Instead, the future will belong to those who can foresee and then quickly adapt to signals of change.

]]>The 7 Attitudes of Innovatorshttp://www.founderblog.com/2015/06/25/the-7-attitudes-of-innovators/
Thu, 25 Jun 2015 13:45:11 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=641I’ve been reflecting on what it was like each time I started a new venture. We were brimming with excitement, passion and energy. We knew what we were creating was going to disrupt the media industry and make it better, faster, smarter. But maintaining that high has been difficult.

Eight years after starting Rubicon Project, I’ve found that our excitement, passion and energy comes in waves. It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day monotony and slowly drift away from the very mindset that is the foundation of our company. How can we return to that mindset of innovation?

So I spent some time thinking upon what we were all so excited, passionate and energized about. Was it the original idea? Was it the opportunity we recognized? Was it the team we had assembled? What?

Then I realized it was the opportunity for disruption. We all recognized an opportunity and had ideas on how to capitalize on that opportunity, but the excitement, passion and energy was born out of the realization that a single idea could change the way an entire industry operated.

My next thought jumped to other famous inventors and whether they had the same excitement, passion and energy when they created their innovations. This step required some research, so I decided to study some of history’s greatest innovators. I reflected upon the innovative people I work with and those that I most admire. Through this process, I discovered that there is a definitive mindset of innovation, and I broke it down to 7 attitudes.

Innovators must:

1. Be uncomfortable:

“A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not why ships are built.” If we are not leaving the safe harbor and taking risks, then we are not truly innovating.

2. Be vulnerable:

The only way to be innovative to is to be willing to change, and to change you need to first admit your weaknesses. In Brené Brown’s TED talk about vulnerability, she quotes Peter Sheahan and says: “If you want a culture of creativity and innovation, where sensible risks are embraced on both a market and individual level, start by developing the ability of managers to cultivate an openness to vulnerability in their teams. And this requires first that they are vulnerable themselves. This notion that the leader needs to be “in charge” and to ‘know all the answers’ is both dated and destructive. Its impact on others is the sense that they know less, and that they are less than…Shame becomes fear. Fear leads to risk aversion. Risk aversion kills innovation.”Be disturbed: When you are disturbed, you are motivated to act. Real innovators are not cogs in a wheel, but are wheel-makers. Wheel-makers are not complacent with the status quo, but instead of just rejecting their environment, they take responsibility for it…they innovate.

3. Be disturbed:

When you are disturbed, you are motivated to act. Real innovators are not cogs in a wheel, but are wheel-makers. Wheel-makers are not complacent with the status quo, but instead of just rejecting their environment, they take responsibility for it…they innovate.

4. Be unreasonable:

This attitude was inspired by Marla Runyan. At the age of nine, Runyan developed Stargardt’s Disease, which is a form of macular degeneration that left her legally blind. While she was attending San Diego State she started running, and she was so committed to it that she ultimately became an Olympian. That is the definition of unreasonable: to lose your sight and then to decide not only am I going to be runner…but I am going to be an Olympian.

5. Be clever:

You may not be able to outmuscle your competitors, but you can outsmart them. For this attitude, I look to the age-old myth of the Trojan Horse. The Greeks did not have the might to defeat the Trojans, but they were clever and conceived the idea to construct a huge wooden horse, and to hide a force of men inside. This enabled them to win the Trojan War – innovation at its finest.

6. Be your best:

John Wooden was one of the greatest coaches in American sports history. As head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period. What inspires me most about John Wooden is that he never told his team to win… he told them to be their best. He reminds me a lot of an experience I had in junior high basketball. My junior high school basketball coach never told us to win a game, and somehow we ended up in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. We won 220 games in a row. Our record was 1,000 wins, 8 losses. We were not the biggest school or the best school, but our coach had the heart of John Wooden and always said, “Be your best”. That was the fire that fueled every win.

7. Be grateful:

Be grateful for your friends and family, be grateful to your teammates, be grateful to your customers and your clients, be grateful to your community. It is of dire importance to celebrate your wins. There was an article on Inc.com a couple of years ago by Goeffrey James about the power of gratitude. He talks about gratitude as “an emotional muscle” that can be used and strengthened. He writes, “People who approach life with a sense of gratitude are constantly aware of what’s wonderful in their life. Because they enjoy the fruits of their successes, they seek out more success.”

After sharing these attitudes with Rubicon Project, I’ve seen a great resurgence in the level of excitement, passion, energy and innovation among our team, and find myself even more excited about our future.

Since these attitudes were so helpful to myself and our team, I wanted to share them with you. Try cultivating some of these attitudes….it will bring you excitement, passion, energy and innovation. And once you have created that innovation, practice gratitude and celebrate it.
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]]>The IPO Hangover – Put Some Hair on the Doghttp://www.founderblog.com/2014/10/29/the-ipo-hangover-put-some-hair-on-the-dog/
Wed, 29 Oct 2014 16:00:22 +0000http://www.founderblog.com/?p=604For over a year, I was focused on Rubicon Project’s IPO. A lot of people have asked me, “What is it like going through the IPO process? What’s it like being the CEO of a public company? What is the company like after the IPO?”

It’s interesting…

An IPO is a big, and important, process–the best way for me to describe it is that it’s like planning a wedding. There is a lot of excitement, a ton of preparation and a lot of stress! You start hiring bankers and lawyers, bringing new people on to the team, building out a public company board… It’s kind of like selecting all of the vendors for a wedding. With all of the preparation and planning, there is this anticipation building up–you’re thinking about the big day, when it’s going to be and what the day will be like. And as you approach the big day, you’re constantly watching the market to make sure the conditions are ‘perfect’–just like the weather for your wedding day.